Some old(-ish) Bordeaux from Alan's collection
Tasted Saturday, February 20, 2021 by Paul852 with 270 views
Introduction
After assisting them with an inventory, we (Sabrina and I) were very fortunate to be invited by our good friends Alan & Linda to sample 4 bottles of aged (1976-1997) red Bordeaux from the small collection that they have built up over the years (in an unplanned sort of way).
The wines had been owned by Alan since they were quite young, and had been stored since acquisition in a decent wine fridge, although there may have been one or two power glitches in the last 4 decades, so the provenance is not 100% guaranteed.
This was the first time either of Sabrina and I had sat down and tasted claret of this sort of age in a considered way, so it was an educational experience for us.
By happy coincidence I had recently acquired a Durand from one of my suppliers to give me a better tool than my previous improvisation with two separate tools (screw and prongs). This proved invaluable.
Flight 1 - Pre-dinner on the rooftop with some simple bruschetta (2 Notes)
Taking what could well be the best wine and pairing a second Pauillac for comparison.
Flight 2 - With dinner, primarily of beef roulade (2 Notes)
Margaux as a classic beef pairing, and a 1982 St-Emilion which had the potential to be the star of the show, but, sadly, wasn't.
1994 Château Prieuré-Lichine 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Part of a mini-tasting of fairly random aged Bordeaux. This one served with the main course of beef roulade.
The fill level was well into the neck. The cork came out cleanly with my Durand, and had trace of wine about one-third up, but was not heavily soaked.
The nose is classic Margaux: slight sweet rich dark fruits (blackberries etc). However, the palate was initially not well-balanced, with acidity overwhelming the fruit and minimal evidence of tannins remaining. The finish was clean, but still a little acidic. It was OK with the rich beef, but not great.
We revisited the last third of the bottle maybe 60-90 minutes later with some cheese. Now we found the acidity somewhat moderated, still decent amounts of fruit, and a little more tannin showing. At this point is was a reasonably well-balanced food wine. If I had another bottle I would try decanting it for a while to see if it continued in a good direction.
EDIT: Alan tells me that the last glass from the bottle was, remarkably, still holding up well 48 hours later!Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
1982 Château Clos St. Martin Flawed
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
The 4th wine as part of a mini-tasting of more or less random old Bordeaux. Unfortunately, the fill was mid-high shoulder, and the colour looked dull even through the bottle, which didn't bode well.
The cork came out fairly cleanly with a Durand, with just a little flaking off the bottom. But the cork was flaky and speckled with what looked like mold throughout its length.
On pouring the colour was actually surprising robust red, but the nose was extraordinarily medicinal (I think we all agreed on "phenolic") and hard to get past. On the palate there was still plenty of nice red fruit and a touch of acidity. But again the medicinal taint just overwhelmed it all.
In so far as I can judge it seems that the fruit has stood up well, and a well-preserved bottle from what was a great vintage should be well within its drinking window still. But its hard be be sure about that and I don't have access to another bottle.Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
Closing
With wines of this age, I guess only one spoiled bottle out of four could be regarded as a reasonable result. And it was a great evening with food that complemented the wine. But at the end of the day, no-one present seemed to have a "Wow!" moment which would justify why aged claret has such ardent fans. Perhaps this is down to the specific vintages, none of which (amongst the unflawed bottles) seems have been deemed particularly good. Or maybe our palates aren't sufficiently "trained" to appreciate them?
1976 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
We decided to open this first in a mini-tasting of fairly random aged Bordeaux as potentially the best bottle. The fill was top of shoulder, but on removing the capsule we found a cork covered in flaky black stuff (mould perhaps). Fortunately I had a Durand which removed the cork very cleanly. The mold only extended a few millimetres from the top, and the last few millimetres were soaked with wine, but in between, whilst a bit old and crumbly, was clean.
Immediately there was nice red fruit and notes of tobacco on the nose, which felt fresh still. This was borne out on the palate where there was an initial acidic nip, but otherwise a very smooth, delicate feel, which followed the nose and with negligible tannins. Some complexity of flavour could be teased out, but overall I couldn't escape a feeling of thinness. The finish was short and clean, again with a little bite and cigar box.
(We were tasting this alongside some straightforward bruschetta)
We left the last third of the bottle and came back to it about 2.5 hours later with cheese after dinner. Now a significant amount of tannin had come to the fore, to the extent that it dominated the now fading fruit. The message from this was that it should be drunk soon after opening to be at its best.
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1997 Château Haut-Pauillac 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
We opened this alongside a 76 Pichon as part of a mini-tasting of random old Bordeaux. Drunk alongside simple bruschetta.
The fill was a good mid-neck, and the cork came out very cleanly with the aid of a Durand. Apparently a well-preserved bottle.
On the nose strong notes of vegetation and tobacco, which follow to the palate where there are also smooth but still quite prominent tannins which persist to the finish. This still seems, perhaps surprisingly for a 24 year old Cru Bourgeois, to have some life left in it. After 30 minutes open the nose and the palate both develop more perfumed notes of fruity flowers (if that makes sense).
We returned to the last third of the bottle 2.5 hours later after dinner to find a perhaps slightly better balance with some dark fruits emerging and the tannins receding a little. It seems to me that this might actually have benefitted from a decent length decant!
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